Ending Thoughts

http://www.zazzle.com/plato+posters

In my opinion, the Big Bang chapter contains some of the most interesting information from the book. It makes the reader question time and the actual validity of the senses. Since most of us live deep within the rabbit’s fur we never question what we see, or think we see. What is there is reality. But, when Hilde’s father starts to explain how our observations in outer space actually happened many years ago, we find it hard to grasp. How can it be that the starry night I see today does not represent how it really looks like? I find it extremely puzzling to fit that in my head. These ideas only prove further what Sophie and Alberto have been talking in the whole book. Throughout history there have been many philosophers, like Descartes, who doubt almost everything. These final thoughts just prove that they are right; one can never rely on the senses. This is just an example which concretely proves all of these theories. Therefore with this final thoughts, philosophy is receives greater value and further thought.

Bases of Society

Marx believed that society was composed of three levels. The most basic level is called society’s conditions of production. This refers to the natural conditions or resources available in a society. This foundation clearly determines the type of production in a society, and because of this, its culture in general. The second level in the means of production, which means the various types of equipment, tools, and machinery, as well as the raw materials found there. The last level consisted of those who own the means of production, which is called society’s production relations.
Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie's World


PELICAN, AlASKA (conditions of production)
Pelican is a old-fashioned Alaskan fishing village. These pioneers, fishermen, and descendants of Tlingit warriors have a deep love and appreciation for their lifestyle, wich mainly involves salmon fishing.
http://www.highlinerlodge.com/
This image represents society's conditions of production because it demonstrates that the town focuses of the fish indusrty because it is next to the ocean.



http://www.highlinerlodge.com/



COSTA RICA Pineapple Plantation (means of production)
Because this society depends on agriculture, several evident tools will be found here. This includes: fertile land, tractores, watering systems, substances for pineapple maintenance, and required facilities.
This relates to the means of production because it talks about the tools that will be found in this type of agricultural society.

http://www.costaricantrails.com/espanol/tours/sarapiqui/pinapple-tour5.html/espanol/tours/sarapiqui/pinapple-tour5.html


JOHN DEERE OWNERS (production relations)
This store of John Deere represents the people who own the tractores in North America and then sell them to the people in need of them.
This represents production relations because it shows those who own the means of production. It shows the ownership part of the relations in production.

http://www.jddealer.deere.com/benningtonequipment/

Areas of Knowledge
These bases of society can be seen throughout history in many occasions. Especially in the southern United States in the mid eighteen hundreds with the slaves and the plantations.

Also relates to psychology because it refects the change in people’s way of thinking, depending on what bases are applied in the society they live in.

Simplifying a Complex Idea

I do agree with Descartes statement because I also believe that a complex idea cannot be defined if its simpler components are not studied. Two areas of knowledge that support this belief are Psychology and History.

http://dianaruntu.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/phineas-gage.jpg

This is a picture of Phineas Gage, a man who, the last years of his life, was unable to control his emotions. If one were to see a man like him in the streets, one would conclude that he was crazy. However would not ask why he was crazy. In order to understand a complex state of a mad man, one must look at the simple factors that contributed to his change. By seeing that he was involved in an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, one can observe the effects on his personality and behavior.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage

http://www.pccua.edu/keough/Wc%202/-French-Revolution-Delacroix.jpg

In history we learn how in 1792 the monarchy of France was forever destroyed. One can immediately conclude that the French people were upset with the king, but one must simplify the reasons he was hated. France in that time was faced with economic difficulties, mostly concerning taxation. Louis XVI, his ministers, and the far-flung French nobility had become immensely unpopular. This was a product of the fact that peasants and, the bourgeoisie, were burdened with high taxes in order to support wealthy aristocrats and their rich, lifestyles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_French_Revolution

THE FINAL CAUSE

THEORY

GLOBAL ISSUE

AREA OF KNOWLEDGE

Aristotle stated that there are four causes that explain why events occur. These are the material cause, efficient cause, formal cause, and the final cause. All of these causes analyze a certain aspect of an event and explain the process of that certain area. This certain philosophy relates back to the area of knowledge of science. In biology class we learned about the water cycle, as well as the digestive system, all of these natural processes correspond to Aristotle´s theory of The Final Cause.
A global issue that relates to this theory is Global warming. Every day I see news of how the world is warming up because of the excess of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. I really became aware of this problem when watching the documentary of An Inconvenient truth. Aristotle´s final cause theory explains each aspect of why this event takes place. However the final cause of this issue is negative since it is the trapping if sunlight in the Earth´s Atmosphere.

ART BLOG: The Tumbling Woman

http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2008/09/24/0_19.jpg

The intention of the artist who created this sculpture was to illustrate the horrible flight of the 9/11 victims. The artist, Eric Fischl said that his work was a sincere artistic attempt to put out his feelings and be able to share them.
Even though it is considered controversial, the quality of the work of art is very good. It requires enormous skill to create a life-size sculpture of a human. The position in which it is laid is very original and difficult to make.
The response of the audience was very negative. It evoked much controversy since the viewers were vividly reminded of people falling from the World Trade Center. It was seen with much anger and anxiety.
The sculpture is trying to imitate the feelings that people felt on 9/11. The feelings of sadness, and the shocking reality of what happened. It communicates to the viewers what the artist feels towards the matter, and how he tries to express this feeling. It educates people on the biggest act of terrorism on human society as well as how people mourned and suffered for this catastrophe.
http://quazen.com/arts/visual-arts/the-tumbling-woman-and-other-most-disturbing-classical-works-of-art/

The Stroop Effect

http://nogfod.com/products/stroop/the_stroop_effect.jpg

The Stroop effect is a psychological experiment conducted by John Ridley Stroop. The goal of this experiment was to expand human knowledge on the capacity of a person performing two tasks at the same time and the effects it had. Psychologists wanted to prove how conducting two tasks simultaneously had a negative impact on the outcome.

In order to prove this theory, Stroop created several variations of the same test in which three different kinds of stimuli were created. In the first one, names of colors appeared in black ink. In the second, names of colors appeared in a different ink than the color named. Finally in the third one, there were squares of a given color. He would then time the participants while they read the different stimuli. For the first one they had to say the name written, in the second they had to say the color that the name was written in, and for the third stimuli they had to say the color of the square. With this experiment, Stroop’s theory was accepted.

The outcome did prove how humans were not as efficient in performing a task while they were also trying to do a different one. This was seen when the participants read the second stimuli. They had trouble saying the colors, because they were in words. This experiment also explains why it is dangerous to talk on the phone while driving or why some people cannot read while listening to music. Through this experiment psychologists gained a better understanding on humans multitasking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroop_effect

Capital Punishment

http://www.fashion-res.com/EX/10-09-20/o31.gif

Capital punishment in the United Kingdom was prohibited in the twentieth century.

Death penalty in China is currently applied for a variety of crimes, but the majority of executions are for cases of either murder or large scale of drug trafficking.

Capital punishment is legal in Japan. Japan, the majority of the United States, and South Korea are the only three industrialized democracies that conserve the death penalty.

In my opinion taking away someone’s life is violating basic human rights, which I believe is unethical. No matter what the person might have done, death is not a proper punishment. There have been cases in which someone has been proven innocent after they have been killed for a crime that they did not commit. These are the kind of horrible mistakes that can be done with capital punishment, therefore I am completely against it.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Japan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_United_Kingdom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China

Historical Analysis

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/VillaUncleSamBerrymanCartoon.png/514px-VillaUncleSamBerrymanCartoon.png

Origin: democraticunderground.com From observing the cartoon I can see that it was made by Americans. It was drawn in 1915.

Purpose: Expressing the American's feeling towards the Mexican rebels who had raided American cities, especially Pancho Villa.

Value: Gives the Mexicans a view of how upset Americans were because of these invasions. Good source because it was made in the time that the events happened.

Limitations: Cartoon does not explain why the Americans are mad. It does not take into account the Mexican's point of view. It is also a cartoon, so it may be exaggerated or not taken seriously.

Mathematics

Fractals



This tree is a perfect example for a fractal because as you zoom into the branches, you still see the same pattern. In fractals when you zoom in and outm the object should still look the same, and this is the case with this tree. You still see the same shape again and again.

http://www.enchanter.net/florida/day04/fractal.jpg



This video shows nature and all its beauty. It demonstrates what a wonderful world we live in, but it does not mention how fractals have created this world, even though there are plenty of them in the video. Like the mountains, the flowers, and the trees.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jP8CC2rKj4

Unethical Animal Testing!

http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/10-12/cosmetics-animal-testing-article.htm

Why is it done?

Many shampoos and other personal-care products undergo safety testing before they're made available to consumers. This includes exposing animals to the product to see whether they develop skin irritations or get sick. Animals are often intentionally given diseases to see whether a new drug will have an effect on the disease, and whether the drug has any serious side effects.

Why is it unethical?

Test animals may develop tumors or other nasty conditions, and are often killed intentionally at some point in the test, so scientists can examine the animals' inner damage. Animals do not choose to do this, or to be tortured. The way they are treated is unjust and cruel, and they do not deserve it.

http://animalblawg.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/animal-testing.jpg

http://zahr.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/animal-testing.jpg

Perception Post

"Doubt is the key to knowledge” (Persian Proverb). To what extent is this true in Perception?

In my opinion doubt is the key to knowledge because the more you question things, the more you want to learn from them. If we never doubted ourselves then we would probably be stuck with the same ideals of the Greeks, and would have never progressed. That is why I believe it is very important to doubt and never think that you are certain of something. But, if we start doubting our perception then we would never know if anything were true. Doubting our perception implies not trusting our own self. The way I see it, this would probably dive us all mad. Then we would never know what is real and reality would be a fake concept. That is why I believe that questioning our own perception does not give us more knowledge.
A cultural example could be back when all the Europeans believed that the world was flat. They thought that is you sailed too far you would fall of the end of the world. Christopher Columbus doubted this, and wanted to prove if it were true or not. He did this by sailing further than anyone else, and discovering a new world. If he had not doubted this, then he would have never learned that the Earth was in fact not flat. And because of this he, as well as everyone in Europe, gained more knowledge.
Every day in school we are taught things that are supposed to be true. But, I remember this one time that a teacher told us that a war had occurred in a certain year, but one of my classmates had doubts about this date. He went home and researched and found out that he was correct, and that his teacher had in fact made a mistake. Doubting the teacher my classmate learned more and learned the truth.
The truth is that I am not one of those people who question what other people tell me, I simply believe in them. But, I do understand why questioning things helps you gain more knowledge. There was this one time when I was a little girl that a friend told me how if you froze and ant and then unfrozen it, it would actually revive. Since I was little and naïve I believed him, but then I started asking myself if it could really be true. Therefore I did the same experiment, and found out that the ant was dead when it was unfrozen. This taught me to not believe everything I was told, and it also gave me more knowledge.

Emotions Post

SADNESS



This video demonstrarting forest fires makes me feel very sad. I love nature and think that it is a beautiful wonder of the world. When I see how we destroy it with fire it just depresses me because of all the life that is being killed. I also get sad by the smoke and how it is polluting our world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsfwiRfvB80&feature=related

DISGUST


I hate cockroaches, and feel a huge sense of disgust when seeing them. I just feel like they are dirty crearures that roam the nasty parts of the earth. It's the only insect that makes me feel sick. When I see one in my home, im too disgusted to even kill it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anz4Q2lzNvA&feature=related

HAPPINESS

I adore watching figure skating for some reason. I just think that it is so pure and elegant that watching it gives me a sense of happiness. I think it is because it is such a beautiful sport that looks like a work of art and for some reason it makes me happy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItdY-lst8yI

TOK IB Assessment Blog

Topic: How important are the opinions of experts in the search for knowledge?

Opinion: We should rely on expert opinion when searching for knowledge, but we shouldn’t give our full trust in one opinion, and should seek for another expert opinion if not secure about the first opinion.

Support 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKIEabuSBPc&feature=related

This video shows that experts, like doctors, are not always right. Forest was told that he had a problem with his legs and that he was never going to be able to walk straight. But, I do not believe that it was a miracle, I think that the doctor made a mistake. It is very common for people to get second opinions from other doctors when conducting an operation. Experts make mistakes, and none of them know everything, that’s why it is good to get several opinions.
http://www.unn13.com/images/forrest.jpg

Support 2:

This picture shows one of the reasons why one should always doubt of an expert opinion. “Experts” are human, meaning that they too make mistakes. The first time a scientist counted the chromosomes, he counted 24 instead of 23. A simple miscalculation, lead to a huge mistake. And it took 30 for it to be discovered and then corrected.

http://genome.gsc.riken.go.jp/hgmis/posters/chromosome/karyotyp.gif

Historical Reasoning

The nuclear bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The nuclear bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were dropped to put an end to the Second World War. Even though the bob did lead to Japan’s surrender, thousands of people died because of this. About 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki died the first day the bomb was dropped. Even though the war came to an end, thousands of innocent people were killed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

Communism in Cuba

Dictator Fidel Castro of Cuba said that he wanted the best for his country. By applying communism, he said that everyone in the country would be equal human beings with the same rights, and that there no longer would be poverty. But, Communism actually caused the nation to decay into an era of poverty and disgrace, where no prosper can be seen.
http://www.orwelltoday.com/cubacastro.shtml

Anti Americanism

At the beginning of the 20th century the U.S. had a policy named the Monroe Doctrine, stating that it would protect all the Latin American countries from the great spheres of influence, like the European countries. What starts out as a way of protecting Latin American nations from colonized, ends up in U.S. interventions in these countries as well as wars. This also created a feeling of Anti-Americanism form Latin America.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/jd/16321.htm

Painting Extra Credit

For me this painting is an example of dark art, something that is not meant to be hung up on a wall in a house. After observing this picture I can see that the artist might have been depressed when he painted it, since I think that death is our biggest fear, and only people who are in extreme depression or have some mental illness kill themselves. I’m not saying that the artist is depressed or a psycho, I just believe that he was going through a though time. This painting is, for me, the opposite of happiness; it is just seeing the world with negative eyes. This is because of the excess of the black color, the black cross, and also because of the words kill and terror that are written in it. The painting gives out a strong emotion of fear and awareness, that’s why I chose it.

The Origin of My Name

Meaning of Michelle

The girl’s name Michelle is of French and Hebrew origin, and its meaning is "who resembles God?". Feminine form of Michael. A popular name when it was first used in the 1940s, and made even more so by the Beatles' famous song "Michelle" in the 1970s.

Meaning of Marie

Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: Bitter
Origin: French
Meaning: French form of Mary
Pronunciation:
(MAH ree)
Form of: Maria

Meaning of Espinosa

Spanish: habitational name from any of the numerous places named Espinosa, from a collective form of espina ‘thorn’.

Michelle Obama

Why I was named Michelle:

After asking my mom, I have discovered that my original name was in fact not Michelle, but Irene. I was called Irene for a week after I was born; I even got registered in the papers with that name. There is no particular reason why I had this name, my mom just liked it. The reason why they changed it was because I have an older sister named Tatiana. In Spanish when you would say our names together you would have to say Tatiana e Irene, instead of y Irene. You had to say it like that because it is a Spanish grammar rule. When my mom thought about it she did not like it at all, that’s why she changed it to Michelle. There is also no reason for why she chose this name, she simply liked it, and probably read it in a 500 baby name book she had bought.

http://genealogy.familyeducation.com/surname-origin/espinosa
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Michelle
http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/meaning_of_Marie.html

5 Important Aspects of my Life

This picture shows me jumping my mare Meliana in a competition in Guatemala. Horseback riding is a very important part of my life because I have been practicing it since the age of nine. I have competed in various countries and have met many people. I have learned a lot in this sport and I am grateful for every experience I have had while doing it.

This is a picture of my family in Galapagos, where we went last summer. My family is very important to me, and this trip was an amazing experience that I’ll never forget. We had a good time, and were able to see a hidden paradise.

The pictures above show some of my friends from horseback riding. The picture in the left shows my friends that ride from Honduran, including my coach, Rogelio; who has been training me for five years but is going to sadly leave us in a couple of months. The picture on the right shows some of my friends from Ecuador in a competition that I went in January. I still keep in touch with them, as well as other good friends that ride from El Salvador and Guatemala.

I love going to the movies! It’s just that feeling of escaping from the real world to something completely different. Even at home I try to watch movies, or when I’m watching TV I always look for a good movie to see. There is nothing that releases my stress than watching a movie.

The Beatles is my favorite band. I have loved them for several years now, and even though some of their songs a crazy and not understandable, I adore their music. There was a time when I sang hey Jude like every day, and singing their songs just relaxes me.